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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27162301">Whisky please</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/VPABA/pseuds/VPABA'>VPABA</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, change my mind, they do love each other, to death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 00:14:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,528</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27162301</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/VPABA/pseuds/VPABA</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Did Cat love Arya?  To death. (MODERN AU)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Arya Stark &amp; Catelyn Tully Stark, Catelyn Stark/Ned Stark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Whisky please</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/yerevasunclair1965/gifts">yerevasunclair1965</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hi people,<br/>I'm sad too many people in the fandom think Cat didn't love Arya. She did. GRMM just didn't explore this in the books. So I've composed a little drabble about their story.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"T’was quite a fight there Ned." </p><p>Ned looked over his shoulder at his friend, heaviness in his body after his wife and daughter’s departure had overrun him with annoyance and sadness. Baratheon was known to be hot-tempered and one could not easily frighten him nor have him surprised, tonight, however, Catelyn and Arya had both owed his surprise. </p><p>He brought his glass up to his lips hoping the whisky’s strong taste would relax the muscles in his throat. Empty. The plates, on the other hand, were half full, the diner had not even properly started. His eyes roamed the restaurant; the atmosphere appeared darker than it had been when they first entered. He could recall people’s stares when they heard yells, and then their shock when Arya stood to leave the restaurant, only to have Catelyn leave the very next instant.</p><p>"You okay there?" Robert’s hand was on his shoulder. "I’ve never seen Catelyn like that." He tried to ignore the judgment in his voice, Robert wasn’t a man entitled to talk over these things. He’d seen the man get into fights over nothing way too many times. "I mean I saw Cat and Arya in arguments before but… this."Ned sighed and shifted his shoulder away from the hand. "It happens."</p><p>After some time he ordered more whisky and was allowed to pursue the diner, in a much smaller company. The food was fair but not enough to take his mind off the fight. It was supposed to be a happy gathering, they hadn’t seen Arya in weeks since she moved out and tonight was the first time she was with them, just him, Cat and Arya, and Baratheon who happened to be alone in the same restaurant.</p><p>As might be expected, over the years, he should have known that with so much time apart a gathering between his wife and daughter could be explosive. But he had chosen to ignore it, hoping the years had fixed their impulse of getting at each other’s throat.</p><p>"…was an eventful gala. The Corps’s fiftieth anniversary if I recall. And even then Catelyn and Arya argued, Mace Tyrell had to stop his speech on the environment so much it drew attention. Ah, just like tonight. Crazy, uh? Have they always fought like this?" Robert’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts.</p><p>"Uh? Yes, yes they have."</p><p>"How come? I can’t see any other of your kids argue on whatever. Your latest maybe, but he’s no match of Arya."</p><p>Ned gulped his whisky as to prepare to tell the tale he’d spent a lot of time thinking of. For a long time, he hadn’t understood why things were so delicate between Catelyn and Arya, for as far as he could remember the two had been arguing. Arya and too many people claimed she was more him than Cat, they all said she looked exactly like him and Lyanna. Arya had utterly ignored her second name <em>Tully</em>. But Ned strongly believed that Arya had always been Cat, so much that no one could see it, not even his wife.</p><p>He’d heard way too many times Arya say to her sister that she could keep popularity and manners to herself, there were Catelyn’s, she favored his silent and wild personality. To be sure this was obvious, what he witnessed was way more profound, and one could not recognize it right away. The two were incredibly kind and truly tried to see the best in people, they were so invested and caring for those they loved that it sometimes led to extraordinary lengths of protection or anger. Their investment in everything they started testified of their incredible wits because from Arya’s most youthful age he’d seen how smart she was. Just like her mother she observed things and tried to understand them before saying anything. Arya kept this distinctive capability of observation over the years and made it her job. She had chosen Human resource management in the university over finances because she didn’t want to work for StarkCorporation, and what she didn’t know was that Catelyn had been in this department too before Hoster Tully convinced her to do law studies. To him, they were the same but with separate paths. And Ned knew exactly what event had started it all.</p><p>"Do you recall our holidays in Faircastle?"</p><p>"Faircastle? We’ve been to Faircastle together?"</p><p>"It was for Cercei’s birthday. All the Corps were there. You know when Arya got lost?"</p><p>"Oh yes of course! I remember you took the first plane back to Winterfell after that."</p><p>"Yes well that’s what it’s about." he paused.</p><p>***</p><p>" I can remember how warm it was and how the heat licked at my skin. I loathed it, but it was for a week only. Cercei’s birthday had been great, all Lannisters, Baratheons, Tyrells were here, way too many people. I don’t even know how she managed to host all these people. I think some were in the tiny hotel by the beach, ten minutes away from town. We popped champagne all-night-long, in my life I’d never seen a birthday like this one. What was she? Thirty-five? Nevermind, it was outrageously glorious. Bran was a toddler and Arya was about three. I'm fond of children but the number of children there was then was too much, they were running everywhere and drove everyone mad. There were some evenings we couldn’t hear ourselves talk. I could have killed Walder for bringing half of his herd, those kids are terrible, still are.</p><p>Olenna threatened Walder’s corporation. I think she said, "If you don’t shut your brats up I’ll have your Corp shut." Very Olenna-like. Walder took his kids and wife and went back to the Twins to everyone’s relief. It didn’t last long.</p><p>We were all at a market place the Saturday morning buying fruits, vegetables, and wine for a thirty people picnic when Arya got lost. Everyone was focused on the groceries while the kids were playing in the garden right next to the market. Arya wouldn’t leave Catelyn who was focused on both the groceries and a crying baby Bran, at one point Cat must have yelled and I must have told Arya to go play with the others. So she left and caught up with Robb who was chasing Joffrey, or the other way around. Then Lysa and Edmure offered to take the groceries home in their car. Some went to the beach, others went back home. Some of us went to a small coffee shop that was facing the sea, rather recklessly given we told the kids to stay in the garden, a garden that was out of sight from the coffeeshop.</p><p>After an hour or so we went to get the children in the garden, it was a true chase, or hide and seek. They wouldn’t come, they said they never wanted to leave, kid stuff. Cercei and Catelyn went real mad at them until they were all gathered. Sansa, Jeyne, and Margery had left the garden to discover the small shops around, Jon and Robb had gone to buy candies with their pocket money, and Robin went back home alone… But all this I only learned later. Briefly, the kids had done everything they were not allowed do to and gone everywhere that was not the coffeeshop. That’s when Catelyn noticed Arya wasn’t in the lot. She had asked Sansa where was her sister and Sansa told her she went to find us. I’ll never forget how fast the fear went up to my throat, and given Catelyn’s face, I could tell she was just as scared. Arya was a wild one, we were naive to think she could go from the garden to the coffee shop alone. As for Sansa, she was too young to watch her sister.</p><p>And so we looked around town for hours, we went to every single shop, restaurant, and street. We went back home, then back to town, to the beach, she was nowhere to be found. We locked all kids home under the watch of adults and started a search party. At one point Catelyn and I were calling out for her and Cat broke into tears. So we gathered everyone in the garden and called the police. Fuckers. "We can’t help you, sir, he said, she hasn’t been lost for twenty-four hours yet. Usually, kids show up in the morning, nine kids out of ten find their way back home. But I’ll take your name." Do you remember how everyone was shocked? So we continued to search ourselves, for hours. The picnic enthusiasm was long gone, any enthusiasm was gone. Cat kept repeating the same thing over and over, she would say: "What if she’s hurt? Or scared? I have to find her Ned, I must." By the evening we had not yet found her and the darkness made things more difficult. "Ned, she’s scared of the dark, oh my girl, I must find her." She kept repeating. We didn’t sleep. We stayed by the garden hoping she would find her way back to us. I think it was you, Edmure and Umber. You stayed with us. The only sounds were Cat’s sharp intakes of breath, the nightly summer breeze, and the rattling of water. But none were Arya’s small voice, laugh, or footsteps. It was an endless night, time was passing by too fast and too slowly at the same. And then dawn. It was both a relief and a reminder of our lasting grief.</p><p>Catelyn ended up falling asleep on the bench and the first words she said were about Arya, I don’t think she truly slept. It went on the next morning, and afternoon and evening. We were getting more and more desperate and we all feared the worse. At last, the police started to look for her but they couldn’t find her either. Faircastle is on an island. She couldn’t be that far, I kept repeating this over and over in my head. It was terrifying to think this and Catelyn’s rational mind instantly went to the darkest of possibilities: drowning. She went hysterical, there was nothing that kept her from searching, not even Bran who needed to be fed or cared for, as for Robb and Sansa they were terrified, thank gods Lysa and Edmure took care of them.</p><p>So we went round and round, all over the island, more times than I can recall. On the third night, when the island had been turned upside down and that Arya — dead or alive — hadn’t been found, the police issued a wanted notice throughout Westeros. I feared to have lost her forever. I was torn between heartbreak and hope, Cat and I both were.</p><p>Then the phone rang at dawn. It was the police officer that had followed our case." They found your kid sir" he said. The speaker was on, and I could see the hope, real hope, shine in Catelyn’s eyes but I feared the worst. Thank you couldn’t express half of how I felt then. And then he added, "but sir, she’s in Kayce." Kayce was on the continent, two hours away by boat from Faircastle. They sent a car in the hour and drove us to a boat to Kayce. It was endless, just like everything had been for the previous three days, I could barely stand, out of worry and I feared Catelyn would just faint out of exhaustion. She’d stopped eating when finding Arya had become her priority, she just couldn’t eat I suppose.</p><p>We arrived at Kayce’s police station and they made us wait. An educator was trying to know what had happened to Arya and from experience, she apparently knew kids couldn’t pay attention if their parents were there. "Mr. and Mrs. Stark?" I can still feel how tight our hands were clasped together when we heard that; how our pace had never been so brisk; how I felt when I saw a small brunette girl sitting in a chair by the far end of the corridor. We ran to her, and for a brief moment, silence hung over all our heads. Arya saw us, she stared at us as if she couldn’t believe were we there, and we stared at her as if we couldn’t believe she was there too… I could cry all over again. She jumped from the chair, far too high for her, and threw herself to us. I caught her, lifted her, and held onto her for dear life. She hadn’t injuries, not even a scratch.</p><p>Arya had always been what you might call a daddy’s girl, but right after catching her breath she turned to Catelyn, and once she was in her arms, she broke down in tears. My small girl. Not a scratch okay, but deeply hurt all the same. Catelyn was wordlessly embracing her, protectively, and with her head tucked in our girl’s small neck.</p><p>After that, if I’m correct, I took Arya outside while Catelyn signed police papers and when she noticed that Cat wasn’t with us she began to wail hysterically. For the next months that followed Arya and Catelyn didn’t let each other out of their sights.</p><p>Arya grew up and eventually forgot, but Catelyn never did. And Robert, I think that as of this day Catelyn protected Arya twice more. It led to an unimaginable bond, of course, they wouldn’t trade each other for the world, so much that it feels like this world is too small for them both. I think Catelyn will forever see in Arya the frightened little girl that had nothing to hold on to but her for months, she’ll always think Arya needs her so, even today. Needless to say, now she knows Arya is a woman, responsible and mature, but she’s her daughter. Not in Sansa’s way. Just in Arya’s way. In their own peculiar, strong, and loving way. "</p><p>***</p><p>"It’s crazy. I'm not surprised they're so close." Robert shifted in his seat to lean over the table. Robert was likely his closest friend, and if he hadn’t understood then no one could. The world would keep believing Cat and Arya just weren’t close.</p><p>Ned looked at the time and decided that it was very late and that it was time for him to find his wife and daughter <em>if</em> they were both at home. "I’ll go now, Robert. It was nice talking with you."</p><p>"Do you mind dropping me off?"</p><p>"Cat has the car keys… But I’ll walk you to your hotel. I don’t trust all this whisky you’ve had."</p><p>As they walked, Ned thought back on his latest thinking, he’d been wrong, some people knew Cat and Arya well enough: Lyanna, Brynden, maybe even Tyrion who’d been friend with Cat for decades.</p><p>"Still thinking bout your girls?"</p><p>The streets were the way Ned preferred them best, a cold breeze hit his cheeks in the gloomy night, incredibly thin snow enlightened by the street lamps like a halo. "Aye." Aye, he was. and he knew that they’d come around and that no matter what, those two stubborn women of his would love each other no matter what.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I hope you enjoyed! Comments and kudos are always appreciated and brighten my days! ♥️</p></blockquote></div></div>
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